The 11th Edition of the Identity Jedi Newsteller

Wednesday 11/16/22 - Identity Jedi Newsletter - Subscribe

Hey Jedi! Welcome to the 11th edition of the Identity Jedi Newsletter! My fellow Jedi, we have done it! We are now over 100 Subscribers!! Thank you all for the support and for spreading the word! Let's keep this party going! Next stop 200!

Special shoutout to Heather for jumping on the referral program and helping us push past our goal of 100 subs. She also reminded me that while I've talked about the referral program, I haven't actually shown you guys the cool merch you get.

So without further ado, let me take the time to showcase our Jedi Rewards Program!

Currently, the program has 4 Levels (We may need to expand because we've got some overachievers in this crew! I LOVE IT). Pretty simple, as you refer more people, you unlock a new reward. Easy right!?

Here's a rundown of the 11th Edition

• The EU looking to rollout a digital identity system

• Financial services and their move to digital identity

• The Okta Suite is here!

• Apple Passkeys, the key to the future?

Alright, Let's Get to the Good Stuff!!

Digital Identity for the People?

Raconteur reports, “the EU is moving closer to rolling out a continent-wide digital identity system, but it still faces technical and legislative hurdles.” The roll-out of this digital identity system comes as a response to the shift towards a digital-centric life during the pandemic and the need for a universal way to verify identities online. However, industry groups and digital rights advocates have spoken against this initiative, arguing that the additional trust certificates proposed in the mandate are less secure than current website authentication methods and would require extensive web infrastructure work to make these changes.

And while technically, I think we can all agree that a digital identity system makes sense. This still scares the shit out of me. It takes me back to a conversation I had with my buddies Richard Bird and Ian Cumming in Denver about 6 years ago now. We've seen what organizations ( be they government or otherwise) have down with access to information. Can we really trust that these systems will be implemented safely, and with the interest of the people at the forefront? Or will we make way for yet another option for people to build systems that prey on the disadvantaged?

US Bankers getting digy with it.

The American Bankers Association has just released a new report that lays out a framework for improving customer identity management to protect the financial industry and its customers from fraud and cyber attacks. The report outlines how vulnerabilities in the key identity processes in banking can result in fraudulent activity and offers actionable steps that need to be taken to prevent fraud and achieve more robust digital identity processes. ( The first link is the article, the second link gets you to the report)

Like it or not, I believe the U.S Banks will have to get on board the OpenBanking train. By that, I mean compliance by banks to using standards such as FAPI, and regulations by the government to ensure that it's done, and protections for the consumer. Synthetic identity fraud is a problem that isn't going away and in fact, is getting harder to stop as we increase the use of digital services.

All hail, Okta Workforce Cloud...maybe

So Oktane22 has come and gone, and I didn't get a single invite from any of the Okta crew that read this newsletter. (You know who you are, and yes I'm talking to you!). Although it's probably for the best, because I most likely would have rushed the stage to try and get a picture and hug from Serena Williams. One day, Jedi I'll tell you the story of my obsession with the greatest tennis player. But I digress. One of the many things they announced was the Okta Workforce cloud. ( Hit the link for all the marketing fluff). This was the shot the industry was waiting for. We've anticipated it for about two years now, but with it finally being announced I expect the "Platform Wars" to heat up a bit. Okta's vision of being the one place for identity is well known, the question is can they execute it? Time will tell.

The stock price certainly won't. ( I'm sorry, I couldn't help it)

Last Word

A final word on Digital Identity for the People. I've always been fascinated by the world of science and technology. The ability to study something at it's core and use that knowledge to create things of absolute wonder. It's powerful. On the other hand, we can also use that to create destructive things that shake us to our very core. I wholeheartedly belive that technology of itself is not evil, but it can be used for evil things. The thought of a national or even global digital identity system strikes fear in the very heart of this technologist. The stop you in your tracks, shudder up your spine, fear. Why? Because we as a people have a horrible track record of marginalizing groups of people, and we are currently sitting on a powder keg of rhetoric and politics worldwide that have us arguing amongst ourselves so vehemently that we don't even know the original argument. Are we truly ready to have a system that allows us to have complete digital identities that we use for everyday services? Do we trust ourselves to use it the right way? Are we capable of securing it? Finally, I'll leave with my favorite quote from Dr. Ian Malcolm

Be Kind to each other, Be Good to each other, Love each other.

Unit next week,

-Identity Jedi